Report #58

This week's poem, "The Midnight Special," took about 20 years to write. It tells of the first time someone told me the story behind Leadbelly's "The Midnight Special." I was a young college kid and he was a grizzled old man, blind and near the end of his life due to hard living and untreated diabetes. He talked about the light of the train falling through the bars of you cell as a sign of someday getting free. It was Leadbelly's story, but I knew it was really about himself.

This piece was first performed, blended with the music and some of the verses of the song, at the Mainstreet Show in Livingston, Montana. Mike Cloud Devine sang and played guitar, Buff Brown was on harmonica, and we had a special surprise guest on keyboards: from Little Feet, Bill Payne. I hope to soon have a recording of it up at my ReverbNation page, but in the meantime, here's a photo:

Music for this episode is from Mississippi Lad by Teddy Edwards, a song featuring vocals by Tom Waits, "I'm Not Your Fool Anymore." The album features Edwards on tenor sax, Nolan Smith on trumpet, Jimmy Cleveland on trombone, Art Hillery on piano, Leroy Vinnegar on bass, Billy Higgins on drums, Ray Armando on percussion, and Waits on vocals (2 tracks).

Click below to listen to the full episode:
Report #58